1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices for holding limp bags, such as limp plastic trash bags, in an open position for filling, and in particular to such a device that is molded integrally from synthetic resinous material as a unitary "blank" for conformation into a holder that facilitates the filling of trash bags used for disposing of garden, industrial and commercial waste materials.
2. Description of the Prior Art
This invention is related to U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,291 issued May 23, 1989 from application Ser. No. 74,263 filed July 16, 1987 by the inventors herein, and constitutes an improvement thereof in that the trash bag holder has now been designed for fabrication utilizing synthetic resinous material forming techniques to reduce the cost of manufacture and to thus enable passing on to the ultimate consumer the savings that result therefrom.
The prior art related to this invention is believed to reside in Class 248, sub-classes 95, 97, 99, 100, and in the field of search indicated in the above noted U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,291, included herein by reference. The patents cited in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,291 are included herein by reference. Additionally, applicant notes the existence of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,659,045; 3,754,785 and 4,052,764, the first of which was discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,291 issued to the inventors of the instant invention. As will be apparent from a careful perusal of the prior art noted above, there are superficial similarities in the prior art to the instant invention, but there are also several distinguishing features and important innovations in the present invention which are absent from the prior art, including the inventors' prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,291.
One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a device which can spread the open end of a plastic bag so as to produce a large and unobstructed opening, and to maintain the opening in this condition during use.
A further object of the invention is to be able to expand the bag opening from inside the mouth of the bag with a hoop having a variable peripheral dimension, so that the hoop may be readily introduced into the mouth of the bag, but may then be expanded to produce a tight fit against the inner surface of the bag, thereby preventing the bag from slipping off the hoop.
As it is intended that this device shall be capable of use in a wide variety of trash collecting situations it is an additional object of the invention that a stable opening and connection to the bag be provided for all possible orientations of the opening. Thus, provision is made for the opening to be verical and free-standing on the ground when used for collecting leaves and other garden trash, and also to be mountable above ground on a fixed or movable support with the opening in a horizontal position for more general waste collection, such as discarded metallic soft drink cans and plastic bottles, collected for recycling purposes.
Providing a means to facilitate the movement of trash into the bag is a further object of the invention. This is accomplished by the provision of a specially designed pan attached by a "live" hinge to the hoop. The pan acts as a threshold or entrance ramp for easing the task of, for example, sweeping or raking leaves through the opening of the bag. The pan serves a similar role by acting as a backplate when the opening of the bag is horizontal, and as a lid when folded down over the horizontally oriented opening.
For storage and transportation purposes associated with both use and commercial sale and distribution, a compact design is important. To this end, an additional objective of the invention is realized by the ability to fold the pan over the hoop to thus achieve a compact configuration.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of a trash bag holder that is fabricated from synthetic resinous material so as to be impervious to moisture and rust, and which may be molded in a single "blank" simple to conform into its finished conformation to thus minimize the cost of assembly of the trash bag holder.
The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with the foregoing, will be apparent from the following description and the drawings. It is to be understood however that the invention is not limited to the embodiment illustrated and described, since it may be embodied in various forms within the scope of the appended claims.